The Lok Sabha cleared the land Bill on Thursday,nearly two years after it was first introduced. The journey was not easy for the proposed legislation,which will seek to address injustices due to land acquisition and provide farmers fair compensation. The government had drafted two separate Bills,for land acquisition and rehabilitation. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee opposed citing little protection from eviction and exploitation. In Uttar Pradesh,farmers opposed land acquisition forcing a rethink. A re-worked Bill combining acquisition and rehabilitation and resettlement was introduced in September 2011. A Parliamentary Standing Committee submitted recommendations in May last year. The National Advisory Council (NAC) played a pivotal role in drafting the Bill. The government moved 154 amendments,of which 26 were substantive,13 of them based on Standing Committee recommendations. They included revising definition of public purpose and streamlining it,changing consent clause and allowing state governments to fix limits on acquisition of multi-crop land,agricultural land,and private land. Section were inserted for additional compensation for families displaced twice and greater benefits for SCs/STs,reducing period for return of unutilised land to five years from the proposed ten,and allowing state governments to return unutilised land to original owners. Another 13 were based on recommendations of the Group of Ministers. This year,the government decided to hold all-party discussions. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath proposed all parties to submit suggestions in writing. Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh held parleys with leaders including Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj,CPM general secretary Prakash Karat and party leaders Sitaram Yechury and Basudeb Acharia,Communist Party of India leader D Raja,JD(U) president Sharad Yadav and Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav. Key suggestions were accepted. Among them was BJP's of allowing states to lease land from farmers,and compensating (40 per cent) original landowners if land purchased by private entities after September 5,2011 (when the Bill was introduced) is acquired by the government.
